It’s almost time for our favorite wine event of the year, the Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival, held September 20-22 and sponsored by FOOD & WINE. Cheri and I have been attending the Grand Tasting since it started eight years ago. For our money it is the best in the area, with great food (and plenty of it), great wine and a less frenzied atmosphere than most everything else. You can read our full review of the event here. Every year it gets better and bigger, and this year is no exception with the addition of a Saturday night event and a great culinary talent lineup. One aspect we started to appreciate last year is the seminar series, which starts Friday, September 20 at 12:30 with Antinori presenting their interpretation of Sangiovese. If you have an appreciation of Italian wines then you know the Antinori brand, and I’ll be there and hope the Tignanello is flying. Last year I attended the event by Pride Mountain Vineyards from St. Helena, California and that was excellent. Over the course of the hour I was able to sample six outstanding wines, all presented by the Pride Mountain family, including their Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. This was easily worth the $40 seminar cost.
A new addition to the seminar series this year is The New Collectibles, being held Sunday, September 22. A 
group of international winemakers will be presenting some unique and small batch wines that they feel could be part of the next group of highly collectible wines. I am really looking forward to this one. Overall the seminar series has something for everyone, whether you’re a wine expert, a wine novice, or just someone with bit of curiosity and a desire to learn something.
For some inexplicable reason the folks at the Preservation Society of Newport County liked our first review so
much they decided to give us press passes and comped us tickets for the weekend. We jumped up and down, because that means we get to Wine & Rosecliff this year, a Friday night event at the Rosecliff Mansion featuring higher end wines and accompanying food goodies in one of the best venues for an evening event you will find anywhere. We’ve been to many Preservation Society lectures at Rosecliff and always enjoy just soaking in the surroundings. This year will be a bit extra special.
You can learn more about the event at the Preservation Society’s website here. Hope to see you there, either at a seminar, the Saturday Grand Tasting or Wine & Rosecliff. We could get used to this.
A votre sante!
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